Li Hongzhang’s chop suey

The dish of chop suey was more likely to have developed as a simple stew of whatever ingredients were available, seasoned with the only common Chinese seasonings available in the Americas at the time – soy sauce and rice wine. Here’s a version of chop suey in the style of Anhui cuisine, with a rich broth, silky soup and delicious mountain ingredients.

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Stream free On Demand

Anhui

episode • Destination Flavour China • 

cooking • 

26m

G

episode • Destination Flavour China • 

cooking • 

26m

G

Ingredients

• 200 g pork belly, skin off, thinly sliced
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 500 ml (2 cups) hot water
• 2 tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil
• 2 thick slices ginger, bruised
• ½ brown onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 100 g peeled green prawns, peeled
• 1 small bunch choy sum, leaves separated
• 8 pieces baby corn, halved lengthways
• 1 carrot, halved lengthways and thinly sliced
• 100 g peeled fresh bamboo shoot, thinly sliced
• 100 g enoki mushrooms, separated into small clumps
• 500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 60 ml (¼ cup) yellow wine, or 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• pinch of white pepper
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cornflour (see Note)
• 60 ml (¼ cup) cold chicken stock or water

Soaking time 20 mins

Instructions

1. Cover the shiitake mushrooms with the hot water and allow to stand for 20 minutes.

2. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms, slice the caps and reserve the liquid.

3. Heat a wok over high heat and add the oil. Add the ginger, onion and garlic (in that order) and fry until the oil is fragrant.

4. Add the prawns and toss until just cooked. Remove the prawns and aromatics from the wok, leaving as much oil in the wok as possible.   

5. Return the wok to high heat. Add the pork and stir-fry until browned, then remove from the wok. Return the wok to the heat again, add the choy sum, baby corn, carrot, bamboo shoots and mushrooms (both the enoki and shiitake) and stir-fry until just tender.

6. Add the reserved shiitake stock and the chicken stock, then add the soy sauce, wine, pepper and sugar and bring to a simmer.

7. Return the pork and prawns to the wok and toss well. Stirring continuously, add the cornflour slurry and cook just until thick silky sauce forms.

8. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Note

• Mix 1 tbsp of cornflour in 60 ml of cold chicken stock or water, until dissolved.

Photography by Adam Liaw.

Destination Flavour China with Adam Liaw airs 7.30pm, Wednesday on SBS and then on SBS On Demand. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Anhui

episode • Destination Flavour China • 

cooking • 

26m

G

episode • Destination Flavour China • 

cooking • 

26m

G